Google's open-source neural synth is creating totally new sounds

BBC Music wants to be the new British home for curated audio

The BBC has revealed its latest attempt to become a default hub for music discovery and curation.

BBC Music, rolling out this week for iOS and Android, aims to streamline how listeners more used to on-demand services such as Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music dig into its music output.

Advertisement

What it isn't is an attempt to replace those services. The BBC is currently restricting itself to building on what it has learned with its curation service Playlister and other enterprises to personalise how music is listened to across its network.

Much like Apple Music, users will be asked about their music preferences when opening the app. It will then proceed to adapt the content to show the most relevant artists and styles.

The app will include exclusives from the BBC archive, including Live Lounge sessions, interviews and live sets from Glastonbury and other festivals. It will also allow users to follow individual presenters and shows, find any track played on BBC radio in the last week and build a playlist that can be exported directly to Spotify, Deezer or YouTube. The BBC described such services as "existing" partners, implying others might join in the future. BBC Playlister, a similar service launched in 2013, is now integrated into BBC Music, the corporation said.

Advertisement

Offline listening is not included at launch. It is still possible the app could "evolve" into a more complete service that archives all music played on the BBC for 30 days, a BBC executive told The Guardian, but that will depend on "stakeholders" including overseers of the corporation and music partners.

BBC Music follows the switchover of BBC Three earlier this month to an online-only channel and the recent launch of the BBC Store, a paid digital TV downloads service. All three moves build on plans outlined in September to introduce curation across more parts of the BBC. "Our music product would be the only one in the market which would be fully open and integrated with other digital providers," read a BBC report on its future, published in 2015. "Users will be able to transfer playlists between digital music products, and access them after BBC availability has expired through third-party providers."

The move also comes in the context of looming budget cuts and a political battle over the BBC's funding model.